Sushil Kumar says no to Rs 50-lakh liquor ad

Raised in the true Indian wrestling tradition of milk-and-ghee, alcohol was never his thing. So, when a leading liquor brand offered Sushil Kumar Rs. 50 lakh to appear in a surrogate ad, the London Olympics silver medallist said a firm no.

“I didn’t want to be associated with a liquor brand in any form as it would send a wrong signal to the youth,” said Kumar, the only Indian to win two back-to-back individual Olympic medals.

Surrogate ads involve promoting banned products such as cigarettes and alcohol in the guise of another product.

“The sporting tradition that I have been raised in values discipline way above money,” he said.

Kumar’s bronze medal triumph in Beijing four summers ago earned him celebrity status and after the 29-year-old changed “the colour of his medal” in London, his place in Indian sporting history was sealed.